Photo supplied.
Pictured is the “processor” machine that cuts and fells trees and then removes the limbs and cuts them on site to the length required at the sawmill. The goal is to minimize the damage done to young trees in the understory that will form the future diversified forest.
Every year, the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA) performs a scheduled, selective harvest of the Red Pine plantations within the Ganaraska Forest.
These logging operations facilitate the growth of native tree species including Red Oak, White Pine and Sugar Maple. These activities were envisioned in the initial landscape restoration plans when the forest was planted over 80 years ago and are outlined in the region’s Forest Management plan.
The Ganaraska Forest is one of the largest contiguous forests in southern Ontario. It includes hardwood and coniferous forests over 4,443 hectares (roughly 11,000 acres) and is a multi-use forest where recreational, educational and environmental objectives are balanced through careful management. The Ganaraska pine plantation was established as part of an extensive reforestation program implemented in the 1930’s by the Ontario government to address erosion control after aggressive timber harvests transformed broad swaths of forest into barren wasteland. In 1941, the province embarked on the creation of the first comprehensive conservation strategy in the postwar era, with the Ganaraska watershed selected as the initial test area. Red pine was the species selected in this area because of its tolerance to poor quality soil. GRCA Forest Manager Gus Saurer explains that these plantations were never seen as “plant and forget” projects, but in forest management the horizons are long. Red Pine have a life expectancy of roughly 100 years, so trees in this planation are approaching end of the line.
Harvesting opens up the forest to sunlight, which is a key requirement for tree growth. Controlled timber harvests improve the light conditions that foster desirable native species while improving the growing conditions for the remaining plantation trees. Saurer explains that the objective is to reduce the volume of trees but roughly a third every few years, improving the growing conditions for the remaining trees so they can “pack on the girth”. Thinning activity targets the smallest, unhealthiest trees, taking “the worst first”. Timber harvests contribute to the long term goals of restoring and maintaining native, healthy and diverse forests in GRCA. Left to nature, these Red Pine plantations would naturally revert to this condition, but active forest management accelerates the process by hundreds of years.
Transforming monoculture plantations into diverse forests is the long term objective of forest management plans across the province. All provincially owned forests are managed through twenty-year forest management plans developed by registered professional foresters. They include guidelines to ensure forests remain sustainable while balancing their social, economic and environmental roles in their communities. GRCA’s Forest Management Plan runs from 2018 to 2038 and focuses on ecological restoration, conservation and recreation.
One of the objectives of forest management at GRCA is to implement programs that help the forest “pay for itself”. Revenues to support forest management activities are generated by user fees and timber harvest sales. Thinning activities are performed by licensed contractors who receive the right to the harvested wood. Red pine logs from GRCA are sold to saw mills, usually becoming pressure treated wood products in building supply outlets. Larger logs (ones that have put on some girth) become telephone poles.
Harvesting activities in GRCA will begin shortly and continue until the end of February. During this time, all recreational trails within logging areas will remain closed and hunting in or accessing trails through logging areas is prohibited.
Rest assured these harvesting activities contribute to GRCA in a variety of ways, the most important one being to foster the growth of a healthy, diverse and resilient forest. For more information about the GRCA and trail access, visit www.grca.on.ca. KG